Cardcaptor Sakura : The Cursed Painting
by AkariSakumi
Summary: A young man in Hong Kong jolts out of bed, a nightmare still fresh in his mind. Later, he sits at his desk, looking at a photo of his love, whom he hasn't seen in years, and yet, who is this woman whom he barely recognizes, but could never forget...?
1. Prologue

_Hi again! Please enjoy, maybe leave a comment or rating perhaps. If you like this story, ideas would be aprreciated, I kinda got writers block right now. Arigatou! ( 3 (that's my special smiley!)_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura, or Cardcaptors, or anything like that. I'm just a mega-fan.**

Cardcaptor Sakura

The Cursed Painting

Prologue

What the…. Who's that?

Shaoran moved closer in the inky blackness and found he was seeing himself in his ceremonial robes. Yet, something was wrong. First of all, the dream-Shaoran had fallen to his knees, and there were tears in his eyes and coursing down his face. Also, he appeared to be cradling someone in his arms, but Shaoran couldn't make out who it was.

He hurried forward so that he could see, but what it was made him stop dead in his tracks. There, in an outfit very similar to his robes, deathly pale and silent, lay—

"SAKURA!!" Shaoran yelled, surging upward. Looking around quickly, he realized he was still in his bed, in his room in Hong Kong. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it had only been a dream. He then got out of bed, got dressed, and started on his chores. He didn't have school, since the first trimester had ended a few days before.

Shaoran, now finished with his chores, looked at the clock. It was only 10:45. "It's gonna be another long day." He said to himself, then he sat down at his desk. His original intention had been to do a little of his summer homework, but he became thoroughly distracted by the picture in front of him.

The snapshot was a few years old, seeing as Shaoran had just entered 11th grade. In the picture, there was a large tree, its leaves just beginning to turn red. Beneath the tree, leaning against each other and clearly asleep, were Shaoran and Sakura. Resting on both of their laps, open, was a large photo album, filled with pictures of the times they had spent together. Several of them were from before they'd even developed feelings for one another, like the trip to the beach back in 4th grade. Of course, Tomoyo had taken most of the pictures, including the one Shaoran was looking at now.

Shaoran stared hard at the photo, as if it would come alive, and Sakura would wave and give him one of her wonderful smiles. It had been almost five years since he'd last seen her, but they sent each other letters constantly. In fact, if they both hadn't gotten part-time jobs, they wouldn't have been able to afford postage. Lately though, Sakura hadn't been sending as many letters. This had worried Shaoran for a while until she wrote in her last letter that she had been saving up for a surprise for him. Since then, he had been obsessing with the thought, wondering what she was planning.

The bedroom door opened suddenly, and Shaoran put the picture down and picked up his pencil hurriedly, trying in vain to look busy. His sisters knew, however, that he would just stare at that picture, sometimes for hours, before he even realized what he was doing.

"Shaaooraan!! There's someone here to see you!" they said in an annoying tone. He turned back to his desk, not bothering to look behind him when he replied, "Fine. Let them in." , but the door had already snapped shut again.

Shaoran sighed, his sisters had constantly teased him ever since they had found out he had a girlfriend. He had no reason to believe that there was anyone in the room with him, so it came as quite a shock when a voice spoke up behind him.

"It's been a very long time, Shaoran."

Shaoran spun around so fast he almost fell over, but he didn't notice, being far too busy thinking, 'That voice—it couldn't be!'

Yet it was! Standing by his door, wearing a sundress that precisely matched the color of her eyes, was the one and only Sakura Kinomoto.

"Uh…." Shaoran stared. He couldn't believe that Sakura was really here, and her appearance was completely different. Her hair was longer, down past her shoulders, she was taller, and she had a more pronounced figure. Some things were still the same, though. She still had her old white backpack with the yellow wing sewn on the front, and she had never lost the expression of delighted content Shaoran had so longed to see.

"What's wrong, Shaoran?" Sakura asked. It pained her to think he couldn't say anything to her after all this time.

Her voice, however, seemed to trigger him into speech, though only a little. It was as though his brain had ground to a halt in the shock of seeing her in person. He stuttered incoherently for almost a minute before he could even begin to string words together.

"Sakura?" he said, hesitantly stepping toward her. A part of him was afraid he was seeing things, and that she would just disappear right in front of him. "It's really you, right?" . She just stood there, waiting for him to come to her, and she no longer looked worried. On the contrary, the most radiant look of joy was spreading across her face that there was almost no doubt in Shaoran's mind that she was really there. That she had really come to visit him, but he had to be sure. He had to touch her and dispel all doubt.

At last he reached her. Tentatively, he touched her on the shoulder. Never was anyone more delighted than when Shaoran found that Sakura's beauty didn't disappear into smoke. She looked up at him and said, "It's really me, Shaoran. I came here to see you."

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_By the way, this is after the anime and both movies. I loved how it ended, but I ideas for a continuation just started popping into my head, and THEY WOULD NOT GO AWAY!!! Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Again, comments and ideas hugely grateful for! ( 3_

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	2. Chapter 1

_Hi everybody! (People deathly silent) I know! I know! I'm soooo sorry it took me so long to update. I had wirter's block, then when it went away (Thanks to ayamiko95's help. thank you!) i lost my flash drive, then i got in trouble at school and my mom took my PC away, and i still can't find my flash drive, so I can't work on my Princess Tutu or my FMA! WAAH!!!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, and I didn't take anyone's ideas.**  
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Chapter 1**

"Hey, Sakura! Can I have some or what?" a small floating creature asked the young girl, startling her out of her little flashback. Looking over to Kero, Sakura smiled and gave him a part of one of the sandwiches she had made. A few days had passed since she had gone to see Shaoran, and the two, along with Kero and Tomoyo, were currently in one of the parks in Hong Kong having a picnic. Helping herself to some of the food she had prepared, Sakura sat between her friends and, joined in the conversation Tomoyo was currently having with Sakura's boyfriend. (Giggle)

"I would really like to go to this museum next." Tomoyo said, pointing to a spot on the map she was looking at. "They have all kinds of art displayed, and right now there's a special display on ancient clothing I have to go see!" she finished, the familiar sparkle in her eyes. (the one from the 2nd movie when she talks about filming Sakura's confession)

"I – I guess…." Shaoran replied, a sweat drop appearing on his head. "What do you think, Sakura?" He said, showing her the map and picture of the museum.

"It's fine with me." She said happily. "I haven't been to that many museums, so it would make a nice change."

Some distance away a figure could vaguely be made out sitting in a tree, listening to the teenagers' conversation. It shifted a little, and the sunlight flashed off a pair of glasses before the shadowy apparition vanished completely.

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"Wow! It's really neat in here!" Sakura exclaimed as they entered the museum. Looking around, she noticed that there were signs posted that pointed the way to various departments, sorted by type of art. There were sculptures, photographs, mobiles, costume clothing, which Tomoyo had already run off to, and paintings. This area was so big, it too was divided into categories: portraits, freestyle, modern, and landscapes. There were paintings of anything you could think of: animals, people, objects, and weather. After seeing everything else in the museum, though, the one that caught Sakura's eye the most was a painting of a specific scenery.

It looked like it was supposed to be a painting of a clearing with a huge tree in it and a lake some distance away that spread off into the horizon, but it seemed wrong somehow. The tree was dead-looking, it's bark black and withered, and its' branches bare and leafless. The ground was also empty, with not a single blade of any sort of plant being alive. The oddest thing to Sakura, though, was the lake. Instead of blue or even a greenish teal, it was a deep, blood red. The whole scene looked rather haunted and foreboding.

"It's kinda weird-looking, isn't it Sa…." Shaoran said, then suddenly stopped. Turning to look at him, Sakura found that he seemed frozen in place. Immediately on guard, she looked around, and found that they were the only two in the hallway. Recognizing Shaoran's lack of motion being due to a time freezing spell, Sakura summoned her staff, not having to recite the contract in a very long time.

Suddenly, she felt the presence around her concentrate in an area in front of her, but before she could turn her head, Sakura heard a familiar voice yell, "Look out!" before she was knocked to the side. Landing on her feet, Sakura looked where she had been standing, and was shocked at two prospects in front of her. One was that Eriol Hiragizawa was where she once stood. The other was that a shriveled-looking hand had extended from out of the painting and had grasped Eriol's arm, and appeared to be draining his magic away!

Thinking quickly, Sakura called on her Sword card, rushed at the corpse-like arm. Before she could reach it, however, another one came shooting out of the painting and lunged at her. Dodging, she swung her blade at her attacker, but it was deflected by the hand's claw-like fingernails. Jumping back, Sakura gathered her strength and charged again, this time striking with a downward swing, but this failed too, as the blade was caught by the hand's claws. Gripping her sword, the arm tried to force Sakura back, preventing her from breaking free of its grip.

As she fought the surprising strength of the grisly limb, Sakura noticed that Eriol was having trouble with the other one. It had already drained quite a lot of his energy, and he was losing the battle and his consciousness. Finding a new burst of strength, Sakura jerked her weapon free and, with a yell, lunged, slicing the hand down the middle almost to the point where it vanished into the painting. As the defeated limb shrank back into the canvas, Sakura turned and sliced the other one clean in two.

Not bothering to watch the hand scuttle back into the painting, Sakura quickly caught Eriol's unconscious form, preventing him from falling. Shaoran, now returning to normal, stared at Sakura spluttering, "Sakura, what…? What is he—?"

"Not the time or the place, Shaoran." Sakura cut him off. "Go find Tomoyo, and you guys head to where she and I are staying. I gotta get Eriol out of here before anyone shows up." With that, Sakura activated the Fly card, and quickly soared through one of the open skylights and out of sight as Shaoran hurried to fill her instructions.

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_Well? You like. The tension gets right off from the start in this story. Sakura's not so airheaded now, is she? Jaane!_


	3. Chapter 2

Shaoran and Tomoyo, the latter in the lead, hurried down the hallway of the apartment building, making their way towards the room Sakura and Tomoyo were staying while they were in Hong Kong. Reaching their room, Tomoyo burst in and immediately asked Sakura, who was sitting on the couch, where Eriol was.

"He's in the other bedroom, resting. Kero said he'll be alright, he just passed out due to his magic being stolen so quickly." Sakura replied, then watched as her friend rushed off to the mentioned room. Shaoran, having closed the door behind him and caught up, walked over to where Tomoyo had been standing, and saw that Yukito was also seated on the couch. Disregarding it as the fact that the girls needed an adult around, Shaoran sat down next to Sakura, asking, "So what happened? One minute we're looking at that weird painting, the next you're flying out the window with an unconscious Eriol in tow."

As Sakura told her story, a shocked expression came over Shaoran's face, while Kero and Yukito looked very serious. Finishing with the moment time went back to normal, she then said, "I'm almost positive the magic of the painting was after me, but Eriol knocked me out of the way, so it grabbed him instead."

While Shaoran tried to register the fact that Sakura figured it out so quickly, Kero reverted to his true form and said, "I believe I know the painting Sakura is speaking of, but I will need Yue's help to tell the whole story." After Yukito transformed, Kero began with, "This happened when we were still with Clow Reed. The three of us had traveled to a distant part of the mountains in China because Clow wanted to visit a friend who lived in the area. While crossing a more remote part of the mountains, we felt very strong magic emanating from somewhere. What we found was—"

"A witch." Yue continued. "and the reason she was so strong was because for years she had been luring other magical beings to her, than stealing their magic. By the time we found her, she was a threat to a large part of China. She tried to steal the magic that allows Kerberos and I to exist, as well as what magic Clow also had. Just a few seconds was all it took for that woman to take nearly all of Kero's magic. Clow ended it soon after that by using the CREATE card to make the painting and seal her inside it. The image you saw was created on the canvas by her dark powers. I can't believe it ended up in a museum."

After thinking to herself for a moment, Sakura remembered a question that she wondered she had never asked before, in the years she had spent changing the Clow Cards, than passing out by magic loss.

"What happens when all of someone's magic, every drop, is gone?" she asked. Yue answered with, "it depends on the level of the user's power. In the case of your brother, who was not very strong magically, you would lose consciousness for a while, than be slightly weaker for a long period of time. However, with someone who is very powerful, like you or Eriol, they…." He fell silent until Sakura said, "They…?"

"They die."

Sakura stiffened, silent for a moment before saying, "So if I had been too slow in getting that witch off him… he would be dead?" When Yue confirmed this, Sakura paled a little, staring at her hands folded in her lap. Sitting next to her, Shaoran rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"What matters is that you did make it in time, and that Eriol is going to be fine. We don't have to go to that museum ever again, and we won't have to worry about the witch."

"No."

Shaoran looked at his girlfriend, surprised at her reply. "Sakura, you **want** to go back to that painting!?"

Raising her head again to look him in the eye, Sakura said, "Yes, Shaoran. The fact that she was able to reach out of the painting and attack us is proof that the seal is weakening. Sooner or later, it'll break completely, and she'll want to destroy everything. I want to take the battle to her, and make sure she can't do that."

Shaoran immediately wanted to protest, but he caught the stubborn, determined glint in her eye, and knew it would be useless. So standing up again, he said, "Then I'm going with you. You'll need all the help you can get."

"Shaoran, no!" you can't—." Sakura started to say.

"Yes I can and I will." Shaoran said stubbornly. Leaning down to Sakura's face, he said, "I love you Sakura, and nothing you say or do will keep me away."

"He's right, Sakura." Kero interjected. "We will need help, because the only way that seal could have weakened was because the witch was draining its power away all those years. We will, in fact, need all the help we can get. That's why we'll wait for Eriol to recover. Being the reincarnation of Clow, I'm sure he'd be dead-set on destroying her."

"Well then," Tomoyo's voice sounded out from the doorway of Eriol's room. "I really need to finish that costume now, don't I Sakura."

The sweat-drop almost visible on her head, Sakura replied, "Y-yeah."

"What costume?" Shaoran asked.

"I had originally been working on it for a little reunion surprise, but it would make a perfect battle costume all the same. I'm sure it will turn out wonderful!" she finished with the again too familiar smile-and-starry-eyed look. Everyone sweat-dropped at this, and at that moment Ruby decided to barge out of the bedroom, yelling something about, "Eriol muttering" and "Tomoyo". No one knew exactly what she said, but they got the gist, and Tomoyo suddenly looked a little flustered, Sakura giggled, Kero and Yue smiled slightly, and Shaoran couldn't make head or tail of any of it.

"So it appears to be settled." Spinel said quietly. "As soon as everyone is ready and Eriol is recovered, we fight the witch, and eradicate her forever."

"YEAH!" everyone shouted, suddenly pumped up. It was one witch against the seven total magic-users in their group. How could they not be confident?


End file.
